- Volunteers and community members filled 300 backpacks with essentials for teens in crisis.
- The event, hosted by Young Powersports and Young Caring for our Young Foundation, aids Utah teens in poverty.
- Backpacks were distributed to teen centers before winter, addressing urgent needs for homeless youth.
CENTERVILLE — Students, volunteers and community members came together in efforts to help supply homeless youth with care kits and a sense of hope.
Young Powersports, in conjunction with the Young Caring for our Young Foundation, hosted their annual "Power up against teen homelessness" event on Thursday. The gesture brings together volunteers from across Davis and Weber counties to fill 300 backpacks with living essentials for students at local teen drop-in centers.
More than 1,300 students across Davis County are homeless and lack resources for basic everyday necessities, according to the Davis School District.
The Davis Education Foundation has opened teen centers at several district schools that support students facing challenging circumstances by removing barriers to learning and to essential needs.
Employees from the Young Automotive Group, along with members of Weber State University's athletic department and other volunteers converged on Young Powersports XL in Centerville to stuff backpacks with clothing, sweats, socks, blankets and hygiene products.
The backpacks were then delivered to different teen drop-in centers across Utah for use at facilities that provide students in need with a place to shower, access to food, computers, and supportive resources.
The facilities include:
- The Davis Education Foundation
- The Ogden School Foundation
- The Youth Foundation
- Encircle
- The Lantern House
- The Policy Project
Thursday's event comes just ahead of Utah's cold winter temperatures, marking a crucial time of the year to ensure those without a place to call home have a path to survival.
"October is a time when all students across the state prepare for a Utah winter. For youth experiencing homelessness, this involves finding adequate clothing and places of refuge," Kellee Belnap, executive director at the Young Caring for Our Young Foundation, said in a statement to KSL.com. "In engaging in these endeavors, we hope to make these efforts easier and be a light for those who are overcoming tremendous challenges."
The effort began in 2021 as a hygiene kit assembly event, but later expanded to include other items that teens in a crisis may need, according to a press release.
Jeramie Young, director of Young Powersports, said the yearly event is a culmination of the local support the company has received for a significant cause.
"We're incredibly grateful for the opportunity we had to work with wonderful individuals, and channel our efforts into an initiative that we're passionate about," he said.
Belnap praised organizations like the Davis Education Foundation and other teen centers for helping to fill a need for those in need and she's grateful the Young Foundation can aid in being a force for good in Utah.
"What we love about this event is that it not only touches the lives of those receiving these packs, but those assembling them," said Belnap. "Our foundation is dedicated to building an army of good across the communities we serve, and it's through evenings like this that we show people how they can make a difference."
